Trump 7 - Cheeto in Charge

[samurai_sarah]

Carry on from here:

 

[Mecca]

My husband works in the HVAC industry and has done so for 26 + years. He was recruited by the main HVAC company in the idustry because this company has a very hard time filling seats with American engineers. He had the skill, background in that area, and education to fill the position. They paid for his relocation for him to come here, they sponsored him, and they paid all of his immigration legal fees. 26 years later they are still having the same issue and is now having to look to India to fill vacancies at their headquaters and main plants. They want to manufacture in the U.S. and they want to hire American citizens and have been doing everything in their power to make that happen, even sending employees to school, but there are still a lot of vacancies and they have had to go elsewhere to fill those spots so it will not slow down production and projects. If production and projects get ignored and slow, they all suffer and jobs get cut. 

Some customers get really mean when an immigrant dares to show up on the jobsite, and I don't think that is fair. People don't know the background of why they are working for that company. If my husband had a nickel for every time someone made the remark of him taking an American's job we would be rich, but that is not what happened. He took a job that paid well and gave him an opportunity. He should not be penalized or looked down at because of his birthplace and education. 

[Mecca]

On another note: Sean Hannity is the wart on the ass of Donald Trump. 

Here is just one example of why I honestly hate Sean Hannity, and I would love to punch him in the throat. During his usual ass kissing of Trump, Hannity says: "Since you have been elected there have been people that have had a hard time dealing with it. Poor kids on college campuses have their professors giving them coco and aromatherapy and pet therapy and coloring books and play dough and they are very upset and couldn't deal. Anything you would like to say to them and reassure them and their sensitive feelings they will be OK?" WHAT AN MASSIVE, GIGANTIC ASSHOLE. That is journalism now? What kind of stupid, passive- aggressive leading question is that? A white, wealthy dude that has everything and more in life is downplaying the honest fear of many due to Trump possibly making good on his campaign promises and he dares to make fun of their honest fear? FUCK YOU, Sean Hannity. FUCK YOU!  

[smittykins]

Immigrants just can't win.  If they're not suckling from the welfare teat(even if they aren't), they're OMG TAKING OUR JOBZZZZZ!

[Audrey2]

30 minutes ago, Mecca said:

On another note: Sean Hannity is the wart on the ass of Donald Trump. 

Here is just one example of why I honestly hate Sean Hannity, and I would love to punch him in the throat. During his usual ass kissing of Trump, Hannity says: "Since you have been elected there have been people that have had a hard time dealing with it. Poor kids on college campuses have their professors giving them coco and aromatherapy and pet therapy and coloring books and play dough and they are very upset and couldn't deal. Anything you would like to say to them and reassure them and their sensitive feelings they will be OK?" WHAT AN MASSIVE, GIGANTIC ASSHOLE. That is journalism now? What kind of stupid, passive- aggressive leading question is that? A white, wealthy dude that has everything and more in life is downplaying the honest fear of many due to Trump possibly making good on his campaign promises and he dares to make fun of their honest fear? FUCK YOU, Sean Hannity. FUCK YOU!  

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Wasn't Sean Hannity one of the major instigating voices behind the tea party movement?

[Mecca]

14 minutes ago, smittykins said:

Immigrants just can't win.  If they're not suckling from the welfare teat(even if they aren't), they're OMG TAKING OUR JOBZZZZZ!

This is true. You can't win. People like Trump and his ilk say they want the best and brightest coming to the U.S. When the best and brightest do come, immigrants still get crapped on for taking jobs. Such a shame. 

 

13 minutes ago, Audrey2 said:

Please correct me if I'm wrong. Wasn't Sean Hannity one of the major instigating voices behind the tea party movement?

Yes, he was. He did a lot of fundraising for them and gave them a voice. Funny how Sean changed his tune. He and his followers could act like fools and moan about President Obama's every move for the last eight years but the favor cannot be returned. 

[47of74]

1 hour ago, Mecca said:

On another note: Sean Hannity is the wart on the ass of Donald Trump. 
Here is just one example of why I honestly hate Sean Hannity, and I would love to punch him in the throat. During his usual ass kissing of Trump, Hannity says: "Since you have been elected there have been people that have had a hard time dealing with it. Poor kids on college campuses have their professors giving them coco and aromatherapy and pet therapy and coloring books and play dough and they are very upset and couldn't deal. Anything you would like to say to them and reassure them and their sensitive feelings they will be OK?" WHAT AN MASSIVE, GIGANTIC ASSHOLE. That is journalism now? What kind of stupid, passive- aggressive leading question is that? A white, wealthy dude that has everything and more in life is downplaying the honest fear of many due to Trump possibly making good on his campaign promises and he dares to make fun of their honest fear? FUCK YOU, Sean Hannity. FUCK YOU!  

You wanna punch that anus head Hannity in the throat? Get in line.  Behind me. 

 

[Ali]

I live in Michigan and grew up in California. It seems to me from an outsider's perspective that most people affected by the loss of manufacturing jobs spend more time complaining about it than trying to fix it. Many don't seem to realize that the world has changed and it is never going to go back to the time when you could easily get a manufacturing job straight out of high school and be set for life.

I would like to see more classes in high school that would provide practical skills for getting a job in something like manufacturing or auto mechanic. I agree with the importance of STEM. I am a math major and will hopefully soon be teaching secondary mathematics. I hope to inspire other young women to consider STEM fields. However, everyone is wired that way or has in interest in STEM subjects. It is also evident that Civics needs a greater emphasis after this election.

[47of74]

22 minutes ago, Ali said:

I live in Michigan and grew up in California. It seems to me from an outsider's perspective that most people affected by the loss of manufacturing jobs spend more time complaining about it than trying to fix it. Many don't seem to realize that the world has changed and it is never going to go back to the time when you could easily get a manufacturing job straight out of high school and be set for life.

I would like to see more classes in high school that would provide practical skills for getting a job in something like manufacturing or auto mechanic. I agree with the importance of STEM. I am a math major and will hopefully soon be teaching secondary mathematics. I hope to inspire other young women to consider STEM fields. However, everyone is wired that way or has in interest in STEM subjects. It is also evident that Civics needs a greater emphasis after this election.

What I would like to see are efforts to raise the standards of living, wages, and working conditions throughout the world too.  I think as long as you have this disparity in wages and working conditions things are not going to get better, that you will have always have companies racing to the bottom of the barrel.   

[candygirl200413]

Re:: Working Class. Someone tweeted this article that a woman wrote that I've been dying to share. It's rather long but here's a snippet. The Dark Rigidity of Fundamentalist Rural America: a view from the inside

Quote

In deep-red white America, the white Christian God is king, figuratively and literally. Religious fundamentalism is what has shaped most of their belief systems. Systems built on a fundamentalist framework are not conducive to introspection, questioning, learning, change. When you have a belief system that is built on fundamentalism, it isn’t open to outside criticism, especially by anyone not a member of your tribe and in a position of power. The problem isn’t “coastal elites don’t understand rural Americans.” The problem is rural America doesn’t understand itself and will NEVER listen to anyone outside their bubble. It doesn’t matter how “understanding” you are, how well you listen, what language you use…if you are viewed as an outsider, your views are automatically discounted. I’ve had hundreds of discussions with rural white Americans and whenever I present them any information that contradicts their entrenched beliefs, no matter how sound, how unquestionable, how obvious, they WILL NOT even entertain the possibility it might be true. Their refusal is a result of the nature of their fundamentalist belief system and the fact I’m the enemy because I’m an educated liberal.

At some point during the discussion, “That’s your education talking,” will be said, derogatorily, as a general dismissal of everything I said. They truly believe this is a legitimate response because to them education is not to be trusted. Education is the enemy of fundamentalism because fundamentalism, by its very nature, is not built on facts. The fundamentalists I grew up around aren’t anti-education. They want their kids to know how to read and write. They are anti-quality, in-depth, broad, specialized education. Learning is only valued up to the certain point. Once it reaches the level where what you learn contradicts doctrine and fundamentalist arguments, it becomes dangerous. I watched a lot of my fellow students who were smart, stop their education the day they graduated high school. For most of the young ladies, getting married and having kids was more important than continuing their learning. For many of the young men, getting a college education was seen as unnecessary and a waste of time. For the few who did go to college, what they learned was still filtered through their fundamentalist belief system. If something they were taught didn’t support a preconception, it would be ignored and forgotten the second it was no longer needed to pass an exam.

 

Knowing this about their belief system and their view of outside information that doesn’t support it, telling me that the problem is coastal elites not understanding them completely misses the point.

Another problem with rural, Christian, white Americans is they are racists. I’m not talking about white hood-wearing, cross-burning, lynching racists (though some are). I’m talking about people who deep down in their heart of hearts truly believe they are superior because they are white. Their white God made them in his image and everyone else is a less-than-perfect version, flawed and cursed.

Really a great read in my opinion, especially because I was thinking about how some people have been saying that the Democratic Party, specifically Hillary Clinton didn't do enough to discuss their needs.

[VelociRapture]

I truly feel for those who have lost their jobs due to advancements in technology or due to off-shoring because of costs. I honestly do. I worked for a manufacturing company for 4.5 years in Sales doing data entry - it was scary when layoffs started happening because no one knew who was safe or who was expendable. So I get how scary it can be.

That said, like others have said a lot of the jobs simply aren't going to come back. I would love to see a greater emphasis placed on educational programs for manufacturing or non-clean energy employees - for instance, in states where solar power is really effective maybe offer training opportunities related to installation and maintenance? There can be some sort of credit or grant given to help people pay for the program. And maybe the Government can offer incentives to those companies that hire workers who go through those educational programs? 

Its not a perfect idea and won't solve all the problems, but I think it's a better one than what Trump just offered to Carrier.

[Ali]

I don't remember this being shared yet. Unsurprisingly, Cheeto is proving he has no idea what he is doing and he is not seeking help from those who do have expertise.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/us/politics/trumps-off-the-cuff-remarks-to-world-leaders-leave-diplomats-aghast.html?mwrsm=Facebook

[Cartmann99]

Sarah Palin is poking at the Rotten Orange One:

Quote

In an op-ed for the website Young Conservatives, the former Alaska governor allowed that the details behind the manufacturer’s decision to keep some 1,000 jobs in Indiana at the president-elect’s behest, rather than move them to Mexico, are not yet clear. But touting the value of free markets, Palin signaled her disapproval if it was a case of “political intrusion using a stick or carrot to bribe or force one individual business to do what politicians insist.”

“When government steps in arbitrarily with individual subsidies, favoring one business over others, it sets inconsistent, unfair, illogical precedent,” she asserted.

And in an apparent jab at Trump, whom she famously endorsed in a rambling speech earlier this year, she asked: “Republicans oppose this, remember? Instead, we support competition on a level playing field, remember? Because we know special interest crony capitalism is one big fail.”

 http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/sarah-palin-donald-trump-carrier-deal-crony-capitalism-232139

[47of74]

Sarah Palin is poking at the Rotten Orange One:

In an op-ed for the website Young Conservatives, the former Alaska governor allowed that the details behind the manufacturer’s decision to keep some 1,000 jobs in Indiana at the president-elect’s behest, rather than move them to Mexico, are not yet clear. But touting the value of free markets, Palin signaled her disapproval if it was a case of “political intrusion using a stick or carrot to bribe or force one individual business to do what politicians insist.”
“When government steps in arbitrarily with individual subsidies, favoring one business over others, it sets inconsistent, unfair, illogical precedent,” she asserted.
And in an apparent jab at Trump, whom she famously endorsed in a rambling speech earlier this year, she asked: “Republicans oppose this, remember? Instead, we support competition on a level playing field, remember? Because we know special interest crony capitalism is one big fail.”

 http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/sarah-palin-donald-trump-carrier-deal-crony-capitalism-232139



So I guess her half teeming the VA is a no go.

[RoseWilder]

Well that's a surprise plot twist. Sarah Palin is one of the last people I thought would disagree with Trump. 

If Trump and his ilk weren't going to totally fuck up our country beyond all recognition it might be amusing to watch these morons battling it out to see who is going to be the top moron. 

[Mecca]

Am I the only one that thinks Trump and Pence are actually overstepping their roles? We still have a President. There can only be one President at a time. Our current Presdient is Obama. Trump has a few weeks before taking office. Dear heavens. Just saying fart face has a few weeks before taking office sends my guts in a twist. The thought of a Trump presidency will never sink in for me. This truly is a nightmare. I need a drink...

[RoseWilder]

45 minutes ago, Mecca said:

Am I the only one that thinks Trump and Pence are actually overstepping their roles? We still have a President. There can only be one President at a time. Our current Presdient is Obama. Trump has a few weeks before taking office. Dear heavens. Just saying fart face has a few weeks before taking office sends my guts in a twist. The thought of a Trump presidency will never sink in for me. This truly is a nightmare. I need a drink...

He's absolutely overstepping. And he's already messing the country up before he's even in office. 

[Cartmann99]

5 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

Well that's a surprise plot twist. Sarah Palin is one of the last people I thought would disagree with Trump. 

If Trump and his ilk weren't going to totally fuck up our country beyond all recognition it might be amusing to watch these morons battling it out to see who is going to be the top moron. 

If only we could get Trump interested in making a reality show called America's Next Top Moron, instead of playing president. 

[Cartmann99]

3 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

He's absolutely overstepping. And he's already messing the country up before he's even in office. 

From what I read earlier, President Obama is trying very hard to smooth things over with China. I'm scared of how things will be when he's no longer there to clean up Trump's messes. President Obama has to be very concerned for the future right now. 

[Childless]

2 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

From what I read earlier, President Obama is trying very hard to smooth things over with China. I'm scared of how things will be when he's no longer there to clean up Trump's messes. President Obama has to be very concerned for the future right now. 

Thank God for Obama.  He's a much better person than I am.  I'd sit on my backside and do nothing.  Let Americans face the consequence of their decision.  They voted this idiot into office (along with all the Repubs now kissing his ass), they can deal with him and his disastrous policies.  As much as I hate to say it, suffering is the only way some people learn.  It's just a shame they have to drag down the rest of us on their path to enlightenment.

[Childless]

14 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I truly feel for those who have lost their jobs due to advancements in technology or due to off-shoring because of costs. I honestly do. I worked for a manufacturing company for 4.5 years in Sales doing data entry - it was scary when layoffs started happening because no one knew who was safe or who was expendable. So I get how scary it can be.

That said, like others have said a lot of the jobs simply aren't going to come back. I would love to see a greater emphasis placed on educational programs for manufacturing or non-clean energy employees - for instance, in states where solar power is really effective maybe offer training opportunities related to installation and maintenance? There can be some sort of credit or grant given to help people pay for the program. And maybe the Government can offer incentives to those companies that hire workers who go through those educational programs? 

Its not a perfect idea and won't solve all the problems, but I think it's a better one than what Trump just offered to Carrier.

There are a ton of technical jobs out there that you can do (some with just a two year degree).  Dental assistant, med tech, x-ray tech, electrician, plumber, welder, etc.  Unfortunately, even if the government were to help with more grants and loans, a majority of the unskilled workers in this country still wouldn't take advantage.  They want a world where a high school diploma is enough to earn a good living and raise a family.  They want it to be the 80s again and they'll bitch and whine about until they get why they want (which is not going to happen).  I swear, if people put as much effort into retraining as they do into complaining, they'd be just fine.

If you can't tell, my biggest pet peeve is someone bitching about their life, but doing nothing to change it.  My husband went back to school in his 40s to switch careers because there was a lack of jobs in his current field (and those jobs that were still around were paying crap salaries).  He said it was the scariest thing he's ever done.  It was hard and stressful, but sitting on his ass complaining wasn't going to make things better.  No one was going to change it for him.  He had to be proactive and find his own solution.  I find it ironic that rural Americans who are predominantly Republican want the government to fix their problems for them.  That's completely anathema to their "pull yourself up by your boot straps" philosophy.  It's so odd.

[apple1]

2 hours ago, Childless said:

 Let Americans face the consequence of their decision.  They voted this idiot into office...

Actually -- no. Only about half of those eligible to vote actually voted (that's another issue). Of those who did vote, less than half of those voted Trump. So --

"They" (they includes all of us, too) didn't really.

[47of74]

4 hours ago, Childless said:

There are a ton of technical jobs out there that you can do (some with just a two year degree).  Dental assistant, med tech, x-ray tech, electrician, plumber, welder, etc.  Unfortunately, even if the government were to help with more grants and loans, a majority of the unskilled workers in this country still wouldn't take advantage.  They want a world where a high school diploma is enough to earn a good living and raise a family.  They want it to be the 80s again and they'll bitch and whine about until they get why they want (which is not going to happen).  I swear, if people put as much effort into retraining as they do into complaining, they'd be just fine.

If you can't tell, my biggest pet peeve is someone bitching about their life, but doing nothing to change it.  My husband went back to school in his 40s to switch careers because there was a lack of jobs in his current field (and those jobs that were still around were paying crap salaries).  He said it was the scariest thing he's ever done.  It was hard and stressful, but sitting on his ass complaining wasn't going to make things better.  No one was going to change it for him.  He had to be proactive and find his own solution.  I find it ironic that rural Americans who are predominantly Republican want the government to fix their problems for them.  That's completely anathema to their "pull yourself up by your boot straps" philosophy.  It's so odd.

I'm in my 40s and I've gone to law school.  Not that there aren't things to do in the IT field in this country, but I'm finding the law more interesting and intellectually stimulating.  I might focus on an area that allows me to use what I've learned from both.

That is, of course, if we don't all end in a bunch of mushroom clouds first because Orange Fuckface starts World War III.

I've noticed too how much running around the reichies do pointing out the specks in the eyes of others while they've got a fucking redwood lodged in their eyes (h/t Matt 7).  These are the same people who complain if anyone else gets the slightest bit of help, or about the moral failings of others, but guess what?  They're getting loads of help and have a lot more moral failings that the people they complain about?  Such as ol' Beefy McJailbait Hastert....

[louisa05]

3 hours ago, Childless said:

There are a ton of technical jobs out there that you can do (some with just a two year degree).  Dental assistant, med tech, x-ray tech, electrician, plumber, welder, etc.  Unfortunately, even if the government were to help with more grants and loans, a majority of the unskilled workers in this country still wouldn't take advantage.  They want a world where a high school diploma is enough to earn a good living and raise a family.  They want it to be the 80s again and they'll bitch and whine about until they get why they want (which is not going to happen).  I swear, if people put as much effort into retraining as they do into complaining, they'd be just fine.

If you can't tell, my biggest pet peeve is someone bitching about their life, but doing nothing to change it.  My husband went back to school in his 40s to switch careers because there was a lack of jobs in his current field (and those jobs that were still around were paying crap salaries).  He said it was the scariest thing he's ever done.  It was hard and stressful, but sitting on his ass complaining wasn't going to make things better.  No one was going to change it for him.  He had to be proactive and find his own solution.  I find it ironic that rural Americans who are predominantly Republican want the government to fix their problems for them.  That's completely anathema to their "pull yourself up by your boot straps" philosophy.  It's so odd.

The thing that irritates me most in the aftermath of this election is the lumping of all rural Americans into one stereotyped mass. I grew up in rural America in towns as small as 8 block square. The only calico skirts I've ever seen were for the day we all got to go to "Heritage School" in 4th grade which was a one day experience of what one room 19th Century schools were like--part of the experience was dressing the part. So that guy who wrote the "I lived in rural America" article must have been hanging out at the Heritage School site to date 4th graders. 

Here is the reality about people who want/need jobs with living wages and only have high school degrees: there are people out there who do not have the intellectual capacity to achieve post-secondary education. I see them as teens when I sub. And they exist in cities as much as they do in rural America. I've subbed alternative school and special ed quite a lot recently. On the surface many of these kids don't appear as if they could not go get an engineering degree (which frankly will end up like the legal field soon enough--when we push everyone to one high paying field, it ends up not so high paying and the job outlook ends up not so strong--actually read some pieces about the future issues that will plague that field as it becomes overcrowded for a grad school class) but they have a variety of learning disabilities that will limit their future earning potential. Telling everyone to go get a post-secondary degree or certification is oversimplifying the problem. 

The issues in rural America, frankly, are not about manufacturing jobs, anyway. In my very "red" (oh, how I despise that Americans have chosen to divide the populace then stereotype and judge us all based on how the news networks decided to color code the electoral map a few elections ago--how have we not realized how stupid that game is?) state, there has never been much manufacturing. The issues are about the demise of family owned farms and ranches in favor of large commercial farming enterprises. With that comes the loss of small business in the towns that surround those farms. My mother's  tiny hometown, 40 years ago, had a hardware store, medical clinic, two banks, two grocery stores, a hotel, two gift/variety shops, three cafes, a barber shop and three hair salons, two farm implement dealerships, an electronics store/repair shop plus much more. Now it has a bank, a satellite medical clinic open two days a week, a tiny grocery store and a locally owned candle shop. The population has dropped accordingly. This was a town that has never had a population over 900 people. It is also a town that never had a manufacturing facility within 100 miles. 

Here is a site and organization that is attempting to address these issues. Read and learn about what is really happening in these communities: 

http://www.cfra.org/

 

 

[Howl]

23 hours ago, candygirl200413 said:

Working Class. Someone tweeted this article that a woman wrote that I've been dying to share. It's rather long but here's a snippet. The Dark Rigidity of Fundamentalist Rural America: a view from the inside

Thanks for posting this @candygirl200413.  I've been sitting on it as well and much of it resonated strongly for me. 

Actually, I came over to post an article from The New Yorker magazine from May 1997, titled Trump Solo;  worth a read because it shows how little Trump has changed in 20 years.  The man he was then is the man he was now.  Some quotes from the article. 

Quote

Months earlier, I’d asked Trump whom he customarily confided in during moments of tribulation. “Nobody,” he said. “It’s just not my thing”—a reply that didn’t surprise me a bit. Salesmen, and Trump is nothing if not a brilliant salesman, specialize in simulated intimacy rather than the real thing. His modus operandi had a sharp focus: fly the flag, never budge from the premise that the universe revolves around you, and, above all, stay in character. 

Quote

The patented Trump palaver, a gaseous blather of “fantastic”s and “amazing”s and “terrific”s and “incredible”s and various synonyms for “biggest,” is an indispensable ingredient of the name brand.

Quote

A securities analyst who has studied Trump’s peregrinations for many years believes, “Deep down, he wants to be Madonna.” In other words, to ask how the gods could have permitted Trump’s resurrection is to mistake profound superficiality for profundity, performance art for serious drama. 

Full text here: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/05/19/trump-solo